Electric Blue
by Leviathan413
Summary: Mizuki struggles to keep his ribsteez team on top as a new enemy rises to challenge them. However, there is one member of his team he's especially concerned about. Kohaku, Mizuki's best friend, has become the primary target of their new enemy. It soon proves impossible for Kohaku to stay out of harms way, and as a result he drags everyone down a dark and irreversible path.
1. Mizuki

The sun was beginning to go down, and the first members of the night crowd were beginning to take to the streets of Midorijima, mixing in with the last stragglers of the day goers on their way back to their homes. The neon in a countless array of commercial signs began to glow, adding bright shades of red, green, and purple to the fading golden light. Clothing, grocery, servicing, and junk shops were closing, while the bars, arcades, dance houses, and cheap snack stores were only just coming to life. It'll be a different city by the time darkness hits. Right now, though, it is still caught in that tense period in between, where the day people rush on by, as though afraid that the night crowd will bite them, and the youth surfacing for the night are straining to behave themselves just long enough for the city to be theirs.

In the throng of people, one person in particular stood out. All the youth flooding the streets came in packs, with one other person at their side at the very least. But this man walked alone, an activity usually only practiced in the bright hours of the day. He was still young, seeming to be about 19 to 20 years of age. His dark hair was a bit long and straggly, but still well above his shoulders. He wore a strange jacket that stopped short of his shoulders, leaving them exposed except for the t-shirt that covered them. His pale green eyes were steady, staring straight ahead as if he couldn't see the people around him.

"Kohaku," a deep, disembodied voice whispered next to the man's ear. "You're being followed."

"It's a bit early in the evening for that," the man remarked, keeping his voice lowered as well. "Any allmates on them?"

"Yes," the voice replied. "Three. A lizard-type, dog-type, and-"

"It doesn't matter what kinds," Kohaku interrupted. "Do they have firewalls up?"

"Nothing I can't break through," the voice assured him.

"Good," Kohaku grinned. "Keep tabs on the allmates. I want to know where their owners go once I've lost them. Any indication on groups they're associated with?"

"Already done," the voice affirmed. "All online activities suggest they are members of the ribsteez team Outlast."

"Big surprise there," the man commented sarcastically.

"Should I contact Mizuki?" The voice asked.

"No," Kohaku responded. "He'd just try to rush down here and make a big scene. There's no point in confronting them and starting a fight until all other options are exhausted. Once I'm through here I'll visit Mizuki and let him know." There was silence for a moment. "What's the best route to take so I can shake them off?"

"Two blocks down," the voice instructed. "There's a side street. Turn right into the second alley and follow it until it dead ends. There's a service ladder that leads onto the roof. I would suggest hiding nearby it. They should assume you've gone to the roof and head up there. Then you can double back to Aoyagi street."

"On it," Kohaku replied. He continued down the street at the same relaxed pace, making sure not to glance behind him at his pursuers. Two blocks down he turned onto the side street, continuing to act at ease. There were still enough people here to ensure he wouldn't be attacked. As Kohaku approached the alley he sped up his pace a little. He had to keep enough distance between himself and his pursuers to reach the ladder safely.

The alley twisted around, weaving behind the buildings. He listened intently for the sound of footsteps speeding up behind him, but it remained quiet. Finally, he turned the corner into a wider area, enclosed by buildings on three sides. There was the ladder, directly across from him. Swiftly he ducked out of sight behind a dumpster on the adjacent wall and waited patiently. About a minute passed before he heard the heavy thud of footsteps enter the area. There was a hushed murmur of several voices before the clang of feet on the rusty metal rungs of the ladder. He waited another two minutes to make sure they'd gone before heading back up the alley.

He had just turned onto the side street when the deep voice spoke up again. "Kohaku," it began urgently. "They're trying to track me."

"Can you block them?" Kohaku asked, pausing.

"I might be able to," the voice told him, "but they seem to have an experienced hacker in their group. There is a possibility they could still break through."

The man sighed in annoyance. "Alright," he said. "Shut down for now."

"Move away from here quickly," the voice cautioned. "Even once I'm deactivated they can find my last known location."

"I know," Kohaku replied, speeding up. He heard the faint sound of the voice powering down. Instead of returning to Aoyagi street as he had first planned, he continued down the side street until he'd reached another back street, and turned onto there. It would be too easy to find him on Aoyagi, even though he knew he'd get hopelessly lost without the voice to give him instructions. Even so, Kohaku did his best to head towards the south district, rushing by small hobby stores and gangs of teenagers shuffling around. Eventually he slowed his pace, feeling he had built up enough distance to be reasonably safe now.

"Hey, you!" A voice called out. Kohaku squeezed his eyes shut and sighed in exasperation. As soon as he had escaped one situation he found himself in another. He turned around to see a gang of teens walking towards him. "You seem lost," the one who had spoken before grinned maliciously. "Seeing as you've wandered onto our turf and all."

"Need any help finding your way back where you belong?" Another chimed in, feigning concern.

Kohaku gritted his teeth in irritation. He hated announcing which ribsteez group he belonged to. It made him feel like he was trying to hide behind some big name. But at this point his only two options other than fighting these guys was down to stating his team or making a run for it. And Kohaku never ran.

"Yeah, i could use some help," he retorted, his voice laced with a hint of venom. "I was just trying to find Dry Juice."

"Dry Juice?!" There was a collective gasp and the gang shrunk back a bit. It was only a moment before the leader recovered himself, puffing himself out again.

"Pretty far from your territory, aren't you?" The grin returned to his face. Some of the others regained their confidence as well, though the older, more experienced seeming ones continued to look nervous. "Even if you belong to a big shot, it's not that wise to venture out alone. You never know when someone might try to take advantage of you." There was a low snicker from the others. "It's a good thing us nice gents found you before anyone like that could come along, isn't that right boys?" The laughter went up a pitch.

"Sir," one of the nervous ones whispered, "even though he's alone, if we did anything to him, Dry Juice could retaliate."

"Not if they don't ever find out it was us," the leader spat back, too prideful to listen. "It shouldn't be too hard to make him disappear." The boy still looked worried, but didn't say anything else.

Kohaku tensed himself, getting ready for the fight he knew was coming. There were nine of them, and only one of him. Even though he was an exceptional fighter, the only way he could take on all of them would be if they turned out to be insanely poor fighters, and by the looks of things, despite the obvious signs that they were a small time rib team, they still had their fair share of experience. He tapped a spot on his shoulder, and the voice came back to life.

"Kohaku?" it asked, waiting for his orders.

"I'm going to take these guys. As soon as it seems I'm in trouble, you contact Mizuki and give him my location and a brief assessment of what's happening."

"Kohaku," the voice had a worried tone. "You are already in trouble. You are outnumbered, so the chances of you beating them are roughly one in two hundred and seventy nine."

"I mean when it looks like I'm too injured or tired to keep fighting for much longer. That kind of trouble," Kohaku spoke impatiently.

"I would still advise contacting him immediately," the voice continued. "Mizuki's current location is in the bottom half of the south district. By the time he got here-"

"I don't need the details," he interrupted. "Just do as you're told!"

"Yes, Kohaku," the voice affirmed before falling silent.

The whole time they had been talking the rib gang had been drawing closer, too far away to hear what Kohaku had been whispering. Once the leader noticed he had stopped, he spoke up. "How about we go for a walk, huh _friend_?" He emphasized the last word to add an extra sense of danger to his statement. "We'll get you back to your turf safe and sound, but I don't see why we can't have a little fun first. We just met you after all. How about we all get to know each other?"

"Sorry," Kohaku retorted, "but I'm not interested in associating with coward ribbers that hide in the back streets."

"What did y-" the leader began, his eyes glinting with fury. Before he could finish his sentence Kohaku lunged forward, his fist connecting with the man's jaw bone.

Immediately the scene erupted into chaos. Their leader fell backwards, collapsing onto the ground. Kohaku landed one good kick to his ribs before the others were upon him. He fended off the first three, kicking one's legs out from under him and causing the next two to trip over him. The fourth came at him fast, and Kohaku was just barely able to put his arms up in time to fend off the blow. While he was preoccupied with this, another ducked around him and sunk his fist into Kohaku's side. He was knocked off balance, and stumbled back, clutching his bruised side. Before he could regain his composure, someone punched him across the face, knocking him further back. The taste of blood filled his mouth.

He caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye, and spun around in time to catch this attacker's fist in the palm of his hand. With his other hand Kohaku grabbed the man's arm and twisted. There was an ear splitting shriek, accompanied by the crack of the dislocated shoulder, and the ribster fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Just then a blow landed on the back of Kohaku's head and his vision momentarily blacked out, causing him to sink to his knees. A moment later when he regained his senses, he was filled with dread. The absolute worst place to find one's self in a fight was on the ground, especially when you were outnumbered. Once there, it was almost impossible to get back up again.

Sure enough, someone's foot connected with Kohaku's skull and he crumbled over. Another foot hit his stomach and the breath was knocked out of him while little pricks of light swam before his blurry vision. There was another kick to his gut, and another. The most he could do was curl up in the fetal position and try to shelter himself as best he could while blows landed across his head and and back. Things began to go dark, and the pain grew more and more numbing. He spat up blood after a vicious kick to his jaw.

Just then Kohaku was hit by a sudden burst of adrenaline. In one fluent motion he twisted around, grabbed a foot that had been poised to strike him, and brought its owner to the ground. Feverishly, he sprang on top of the assaulter, punching, clawing, kicking, and biting as though he had become a wild animal. He felt hands grabbing at him, trying to pull him off, but he clung on with all his might, limbs flailing wildly to strike anything that came near him. Someone's fist smashed down into the back of his head and he fell forward, collapsing on top of his victim.

Kohaku's sight was completely black now, and he no longer had any control over his body. He still managed to keep barely enough consciousness to be aware of his surroundings, though even that was fading fast. He felt the man beneath him push him off, and he rolled over onto his back. Several hands clutched at his arms and legs, dragging him across the ground. He could hear some muffled, angry voices coming in and out of focus, too slurred for him to make out any words. With one last raspy breath, Kohaku finally blacked out, his mind giving in to the shallow, comatose sensation.

Something cold and wet trickled down the side of Kohaku's face. Wincing, he slowly opened his eyes. Light flooded them, and he had to squint as they slowly became adjusted. A young man's angry face came into view, glaring down at him.

"You complete idiot!" he spat furiously. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Mizuki?" Kohaku sat up, immediately regretting his decision. A wave of pain rushed to his head and he grimaced. Mizuki pushed him back down again, a little more roughly than he needed to. Kohaku let out a sharp cry as his bruised back and head met the hard surface beneath him. Wincing, he glanced around. He was in a small apartment, surrounded by an assortment of worried people. They were all friends and familiar faces he recognized from Dry Juice. Mizuki was the only one of the bunch who looked more angry than concerned. "Hey, I asked you a question," he growled.

"They confronted me," Kohaku mumbled, shutting his eyes. "I didn't have a choice." Mizuki's loud voice seemed to echo off the insides of his skull.

"So you thought you'd just take them all at once?" Mizuki was getting steadily angrier by the minute. The others in the group took a nervous step back. Their leader was seldom ever angry, but when he was it was best to steer clear. "You could have been killed!" He continued. "You were practically half dead by the time we got there! You're damn lucky Daichi's junky old car was working for once. Otherwise we never would have made it in time!"

"Finally got that scrap of metal to run, did you?" Kohaku Found Daichi's face in the crowd and managed a weak grin. The man returned his grin, but it was wiped from his face almost instantly when Mizuki shot him a poisonous look.

"Why didn't you get out of there? Or at least tell them there was a bunch of Dry Juice heading up the street right now. I bet that would've made them run, no question!"

"You're the one who told me never to lie," Kohaku started.

"Well, I figured you'd be smart enough to realize that when a dozen scum bags are about to kick your ass you can make some threats before you start swinging your fists like an idiot with a death wish!"

"Nine," Kohaku muttered.

"What?" Mizuki asked, the anger fading from his face for a moment, replaced by a look of confusion.

"There were only nine of them," Kohaku told him. "Not a dozen."

Mizuki was quiet for a moment, processing what he had said as the rage seeped back into his face. "Oh good!" He spat sarcastically. "There were only nine?! Well damn, that makes all the fucking difference! I'm amazed you couldn't take them! I mean, only nine people? That should have been no problem for you! After all, you're fucking invincible!"His eyes widened and the pitch of his voice heightened in an exasperated way.

"I get it," Kohaku sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Well that just makes everything better," Mizuki's voice was low and gruff now. He leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest in frustration. "We almost took you to the hospital," he continued quietly. The anger was gone now, replaced by a distant, tired look. "You know how unreliable medical treatment is here. You couldn't have payed the bill even if we all pitched in and pooled our money together." He blinked, turning his gaze up to the ceiling. "Still better than watching you die," Mizuki added.

It was quiet for a moment. "Thank you," Kohaku spoke up. "And I really am sorry."

"Whatever," Mizuki wouldn't meet his eyes. "Just don't pull shit like that again."

"You got it, boss." Kohaku tried to smile, but he had to stop because of the pain coming from the swollen bruise at the corner of his mouth. Mizuki saw him wince.

"Here," he said, taking the wet towel from his forehead and pressing it gently onto his cheek. "Someone fetch more ice," he called out. One of the men obeyed, bringing forward a fresh towel filled with ice. Mizuki took it from him and pressed it to Kohaku's face. Kohaku grimaced at the sudden cold sensation on his swollen skin. Mizuki pulled back the towel a little, all anger now gone from his eyes, replaced by a look of concern. "Noboru," he called to one of the men gathered around. "Is it alright if we stay at your apartment for the rest of the night? Kohaku needs to rest."

"Of course," Noboru nodded his consent.

"Thank you," Mizuki smiled half halfheartedly. "The rest of you can go home, get some sleep. I'm staying here to watch over this idiot," he tilted his head toward Kohaku, though there was still no hint of anger in his eyes or voice. "Make sure to alert the others that Dry Juice won't be doing anything tonight."

His statement was followed by murmurs. Some cleared out, headed for their homes or whatever destination they had in mind. A few of Kohaku's closer friends stayed behind to help Mizuki watch over him. It wasn't long before Kohaku drifted into a shallow, uneasy sleep. Every time he twitched or rolled over he woke up again from a new stab of pain. Most of those who stayed fell asleep as well, but Mizuki was up the whole night, his eyes glazed over with worry as he sat by Kohaku's side.


	2. The Butterfly

"Morning, handsome," Mizuki smiled at Kohaku as he blinked away his sleepiness. "It's about time you woke up."

"Mizuki?" Kohaku yawned, confused about where he was and why his head was throbbing so painfully. Then the memories of last night hit him. He laughed quietly. "How do I look?"

"Like you're ready for the red carpet," Mizuki joked. "Now come on," he helped Kohaku sit up. "Daichi's waiting outside in the stretch limo."

"That thing's still running?" Kohaku asked, getting uncertainly to his feet.

"He had to keep the engine going all night, but she's still alive," Mizuki referred to the rusty old car. Noboru was the only person left in the room other than those two, and he hurried forward to help support Kohaku on one side while Mizuki took the other, half guiding, half carrying their injured friend across the floor. "Normally I wouldn't trust that thing to take me anywhere if my life depended on it," Mizuki continued, "but you're in no state to walk and we have to get you to a doctor."

They had almost made it to the door when Kohaku stopped trying to walk and pulled his arms away from the two helping him. This action threw him off balance and he stumbled back just as Noboru reached out and caught him to keep him from falling over. "Careful," Noboru cautioned.

"You said last night that you weren't taking me to some crazy doctor," Kohaku spoke rapidly, brushing off his teammate's warning.

"I said we weren't taking you to a hospital," Mizuki corrected him. "And this woman isn't like the other doctors. She's reliable. Her grandson is a friend of mine."

"How much will it cost?" Kohaku eyed his friend suspiciously.

"To examine _your_ head?" There was a spark of humor in Mizuki's eyes. "Well, since there wasn't much there to begin with-"

"I'm serious," Kohaku interrupted, though he smiled despite himself, wincing slightly at the stinging sensation it caused in his swollen cheek. "How much?"

"She doesn't try to swindle anyone out of their money," Mizuki reassured him. "She'll charge a fair price. If you have trouble paying, I'll cover the difference myself."

"Then I'll save up to pay you back later." Kohaku met his team leader's eyes, challenging him silently to object.

Mizuki sighed. They had had many arguments in the past over whether or not Kohaku needed to pay him back when he offered assistance. He had learned from experience that it was better to just let him have his way. "Fine," Mizuki agreed. "Now get your ass moving." He reached out and took Kohaku's arm again. "Tae-san isn't going to just magically appear to cater to your every need."

"Yeah, yeah," Kohaku grinned, letting them help him out the door and down the stairs.

The rest of the Dry Juice members that had stayed to watch over Kohaku were gathered around the car.

"How are you feeling this morning?" One of the men called out as they approached.

"The real question is, how are you feeling, Souta?" Kohaku called back to his friend. "You look like you had a blender style your hair with that bed-head."

"I take it you're fine, then," his serious friend replied to his joke. Souta gave a small smile of relief though. One of the other guys punched his shoulder playfully. He shot him a confused look, having never been good with humor.

Mizuki and Noboru helped Kohaku into the back seat of the car. "Sleep well, sunshine?" Daichi grinned at him from the driver's seat. When it came to humor, he was the polar opposite of Souta.

"Never better," Kohaku returned his smile.

"Alright, that's enough chit-chat," Mizuki spoke up. "Now I'm sure everyone's dying to be beside the man of the hour, but Daichi and I can take it from here. The rest of you go back to whatever hole you crawled out of. It's a joke, Souta," he added.

"I know," Souta replied, continuing to look unamused. The rest of them laughed and said their goodbyes before beginning to disperse. Mizuki climbed into the passenger seat just before Daichi took his foot off the brake. They began to move, slowly at first, but gaining speed, though not without plenty of creaks and groans of protest from the aging car. Mizuki shifted around nervously. He had always hated any form of transportation other than his own two feet, but he had a special vice against Daichi's car. Kohaku could hardly blame him, what with the thing practically falling apart and all.

"You wouldn't happen to have gotten the radio working as well, would you?" Mizuki asked, looking for something to take his mind off the screech of metal.

"No can do, boss," Daichi replied apologetically. They turned out of the back streets and onto the main road. No one used public transportation in Midorijima, so unsurprisingly, the street was flooded with people going about their business. "Out of the way!" Daichi yelled out the window. He slammed his hand repeatedly on the horn despite the fact that, like almost everything in the car, it was broken. Most passersby ignored him, though a few shot them angry looks. Daichi paused for a moment before adding, "Dry Juice, coming through!"

"Daichi!" Mizuki hissed in protest. However, mentioning the name of the largest ribsteez team in the city did, in fact, work. Many people got nervous looks on their faces and those around the car started to clear a path.

"Works like a charm," Daichi grinned. Kohaku rolled his eyes in the back, clutching at his head to steady the painful pulsation caused by Daichi's shouting.

"Do you want every Outlast member on this side of Aoyagi to know we're here?" Mizuki growled at him.

"Oh, like they couldn't recognize you in a heartbeat-" Daichi began. He was interrupted by Kohaku's sudden outburst.

"Outlast!" he exclaimed. Daichi jumped, slamming his foot on the brake and causing them all to lurch forward. Kohaku let out a sharp cry as his bruised shoulder slammed into the seat in front of him.

"Watch where you're going!" Mizuki snapped at Daichi.

"I forgot to tell you!" Kohaku continued, ignoring Daichi's feeble muttering as he rubbed his freshly re-bruised shoulder. "I was being followed by some guys from Outlast the other night before that one rib team jumped me!"

"What?!" Mizuki spun around to face him.

"Yeah, I had Rai track their allmates." He paused for a moment. "Rai?" Kohaku called, frantically glancing around. "Where's Rai?"

"Still here, Kohaku," the deep voice spoke up. Something detached itself from Kohaku's shoulder and flew into the air. He extended a finger and a small butterfly landed on it. The allmate's wings returned to their normal blue color, having been camouflaged to blend in with Kohaku's shirt earlier. "The allmates and their owners returned to the known Outlast base after about forty-five minutes of going up and down Aoyagi street, presumably searching for you." The wings fluttered a bit as the butterfly allmate spoke. "They were joined by other members of their ribsteez team, then respectively split up along their territory. After that-"

"That'll be enough," Kohaku interrupted. "Thank you, Rai."

"You're welcome, Kohaku," Rai replied before fluttering back to his shoulder. His wings faded out to blend in with the shirt's material again.

"Damn them," Mizuki muttered to himself. "They've been getting more aggressive lately. Though they still aren't cocky enough to challenge me directly." He laughed, but there was no humor in his voice.

"They know very well if they don't back off there's gonna be a turf war," Daichi commented, hitting the gas again. "And they'll get their asses kicked," he smirked.

Mizuki looked a bit worried, but he didn't say anything. Kohaku noticed and shot him a questioning look, but he only brushed him off with a smile. "It's about time we started taking precautions," Mizuki spoke up. "Members of Dry Juice can't go anywhere at night without at least one other member. If we aren't careful they could start picking our guys off. So far they've only come after isolated members who were out on their own. We're lucky no one's been seriously hurt."

"They're just a bunch of cowards who can't face us in a real fight," Daichi shrugged carelessly.

"Don't take this lightly," Mizuki warned. "You could end up like pretty boy over here." He beckoned towards Kohaku. "Only it's Outlast, so you'd be even worse off."

"But those wimps didn't even catch him," Daichi protested. "He just fell ass backwards into a bunch of kids trying to act tough. Which was pretty lame, by the way," Daichi grinned at Kohaku in the reflection of the car's grimy rear-view mirror. "It's going to take you a while to live that down," he teased.

"Yeah, well I'll get to work on it right away." Kohaku smiled weakly. The truth was that he agreed with Mizuki, but he was too preoccupied with his migraine to take a side, or even pay much attention to the conversation. The most he could do was clutch at his forehead while trying not to focus on the pain.

"I'm serious, Daichi." Mizuki didn't share in their humor. "Outlast is growing in members. They aren't much smaller than us now. If things continue like this, they could become a real threat."

"Then let's get them while we're ahead. Throw some punches, send them running for their mommas."

"Dry Juice's purpose is to protect and look out for its members, not to throw them in harm's way," Mizuki replied coldly. "Just because you have power doesn't mean you get to abuse it. We only fight when necessary."

"Well, what's not necessary about this?" Daichi argued. "If we don't fight now, we're just prolonging a bigger battle in the future. And by then we may be at a disadvantage."

"We don't even know if there will be a battle," Mizuki retorted. "Besides, I'd rather fight at a disadvantage than take down an opponent when they're no match for me."

"There's the big man!" Daichi hooted. "Trying to act all worthy but he's still got his pride." Mizuki couldn't help but smile at Daichi's carefree demeanor. He knew that when Daichi said something like this, it meant Mizuki had won the argument. "That, my friend," Daichi continued. "That whole self-righteous thing is exactly what's going to get you killed."

"As long as you go down first," Mizuki shot back, grinning. He suddenly realized Kohaku was crouched over in the back seat, massaging his temples. "You alright, Kohaku?" Mizuki eyed him with concern.

"Fine," Kohaku murmured in reply.

"Liar," Daichi muttered under his breath. Despite his comment he, too, looked worried, watching Kohaku in the reflection of the rearview mirror.

"Hold on a bit longer," Mizuki spoke quietly. "We're almost there." He turned to Daichi. "Keep your eyes on the road," he snapped when he saw Daichi staring at their injured friend in the rear-view mirror.

"You're the boss," Daichi muttered.

"Three streets down from here, take a right," Mizuki instructed, ignoring his remark.

"You'll have to remind me when we get there," Daichi replied. "There's no way I'll remember by the time these people clear out of the way so we can actually get somewhere."

"Just try and be as fast as you can - without running anyone over," Mizuki added before Daichi could make a sarcastic comment.

"Kohaku," Rai spoke up. He sounded alarmed. "I ran a scan on your current physical state. There is severe bruising and minor internal bleeding, as I'm sure you've noticed. But the real problem is that there is an extreme chemical imbalance in your brain triggering your current migraine. It seems your serotonin levels are dangerously low."

"Cut all the doctor crap, Rai, and get to the point," Kohaku moaned from the pain.

"If you don't receive proper treatment soon, it could result in damage to your brain stem. This would badly affect your breathing, regulation of heart rate, sleep cycle, motor skills, sensory reception-"

"Ok, ok, I get it," Kohaku interrupted. "If I don't see somebody soon, I'm screwed."

"Why didn't you run a scan sooner?" Mizuki hissed, though he sounded more worried than angry. He was addressing Rai, but since the allmate was camouflaged to Kohaku's shirt, Mizuki wasn't able to tell where he was, making it look as though he were snapping at Kohaku

"I ran an initial scan when Kohaku was first injured," Rai began, " but the combination of adrenaline and shock prevented me from getting an accurate analysis of pain reception within his body. I was only able to determine that he had bruising and slight internal bleeding, neither of which indicated threats of severe damage. Since Kohaku is currently suffering from a migraine, I decided to take a second scan in order re-asses his condition."

"So that's just a wordy way of saying step on Daichi!" Mizuki exclaimed.

"I'm going fast as I can!" Even so, Daichi sped up a bit, causing some people to have to jump out of the way, shouting angrily after the car.

"Here!" Mizuki yelled as Daichi almost missed the street they needed. "Turn here!"

Daichi spun the wheel violently and they shot down the new street, practically empty compared to the rush of Aoyagi. Kohaku cried out as he was thrown against the car's side. "Hang in there," Daichi spoke frantically, Rai's words having scared him. "We'll be there soon!"

"I'm not worried about getting this damn headache treated, I'm worried about your crazy driving," Kohaku managed a small smile. "At this rate we won't even make it there in one piece."

Silence followed this statement. "I'm not dying, guys," Kohaku added, taken aback by their unusually serious faces. "Don't let Rai's big medical terms scare you. It's just a headache!"

"You have a bad habit of oversimplifying things when it comes to yourself," Mizuki spoke quietly. "Turn here," he added to Daichi. "It's the house right there."

Daichi pulled up in front of the house Mizuki had indicated. He had to wrestle with the gear shift for a moment, but with a rusty screech that did no service to Kohaku's aching head, he managed to put the car in park. Even before he had managed this, Mizuki was already out of the car and pulling the back door open. He practically dragged Kohaku out, propping Kohaku up against himself and helping his friend to walk along.

"Go knock on the door," he commanded Daichi, and with a curt nod Daichi dashed up the walk and rapped on the front door. "I should warn you," Mizuki said quietly to Kohaku as he guided him towards the house at a much slower pace. "Tae-san can be rather-" he paused, searching for the right words, "strong willed. It's best to do as she says."

Just then a loud screeching came from the house. "What do you want?!" the voice of a grown woman bellowed from within. "Aoba, did you lock yourself out again? Stupid grandson!" The door swung open, revealing the wrinkled face of an old woman glaring up at Daichi, who towered over her. Her hair was bright pink and elaborately styled, somehow making her appear even more intimidating. "Who the hell are you?" she growled.


	3. Tae-san

"Tae-san," Mizuki spoke up. The cross-looking woman tilted her head to see around Daichi. As soon as she spotted the Dry Juice leader, her eyes lit up in recognition.

"Mizuki?" she asked, surprised. "Aoba's not here right n-" The old woman broke off when she saw Kohaku. Her expression changed from puzzled to grim and business-like instantly. "Bring him in," she growled in a serious,though not unwelcoming tone.

Kohaku was led into an entrance hall. He tried to remove his shoes as was polite, but Mizuki dragged him forward, too concerned about his friend to care about following customs. He was led through a kitchen and into a small living room. "Have him lay down there," Tae instructed gruffly, pointing to the couch. Daichi stepped forward to help Mizuki lower their teammate onto the couch. Kohaku winced as his heavily bruised back pressed against the sofa. Tae left them for a moment, heading into the kitchen to get her medical supplies.

"How's the headache?" Daichi asked.

"Better than a week's stay at Platinum Jail," Kohaku replied sarcastically, grinning up at them. Daichi allowed a halfhearted smile, though it was clear he was only doing so to comfort Kohau. Mizuki's worried expression didn't shift for a moment.

Tae came back into the room with a large traveling-type case and some towels and ice. "Get his shirt off so I can see the wounds," she barked. Obediently, Mizuki reached forwards.

"Hey," Kohaku pushed his hands away. "I'm not entirely incapable here, I can do that myself." Mizuki nodded, standing back up. "Besides," Kohaku added as he stripped his shirt off, "you can at least buy me a drink first."

This time Mizuki couldn't help but grin. "As if," he laughed. "You'd have to be a lot prettier than that to get my attention."

"If I recall correctly," Daichi chimed in, "your last girlfriend wasn't much better looking than this ugly mug," he gestured at Kohaku.

"Hey!" Mizuki exclaimed. Kohaku was opening his mouth to retort when Tae spoke up.

"That's enough fooling around!" she snapped. "I have a patient to attend to. If you can't shut up then you most certainly can wait out in the hall!'

They all fell silent immediately, feeling slightly intimidated by her commanding demeanor. The laughter melted from Mizuki and Daichi's face almost instantly, replaced by solemn looks. They watched with concern as Tae examined Kohaku, pressing ice to places where the swelling was especially bad. He shivered at the cold touch, shifting around in discomfort. "Hold this over the lump on his head," she directed Daichi, holding out some ice wrapped in a rag. Kohaku reached up to take it but she swatted his hand away. "Not you!" she growled impatiently. "If I'd wanted you to do it I would have asked you!" He quickly put his hands down in response. Daichi took it as she had told him to and held it to the back of Kohaku's head. He flinched at the combination of the cold and the sudden stab of pain from the pressure being applied to his injury.

"Turn over," Tae ordered. Kohaku made extra sure she was talking to him before he did as she said. There was a soft murmur of shock as the deep purple patchwork of bruises across his back was revealed. Tae pressed down on them, harder, Kohaku was certain, then she needed to. He cried out as his flesh seemed to catch fire.

"Just as I thought," Tae muttered. "You're still pretty numb here."

'Not numb enough,' Kohaku thought bitterly, grimacing. He swore his skin was being seared from his muscles.

"Mizuki!" Tae turned to him. "We'll need lots of ice to help the swelling here. If it doesn't go down a bit your friend will turn into a balloon." If anyone else had said this, it would have sounded funny, whether they'd intended it to or not. But with Tae's stern face it only sounded frightening, as though she were threatening to make Kohaku swell up like a balloon herself.

"You got it," Mizuki smiled respectfully at her, hurrying off.

"Stay lying on your stomach," Tae instructed, lowering her voice so it sounded a little more gentle. "The ice will do for now, but I'll need to mix you up something to keep the swelling at bay later on." She snapped open the traveling case and began to rummage through it. The lid was blocking Kohaku's view, so he couldn't see what was actually inside, but he imagined all kinds of large needles and sharp scalpels lurking within its confines. He shrank back a little at the thought.

"I won't bite," Tae growled, sounding very much as though she would. She pulled out several small jars of various dull colored powders and liquids. Carefully, she began to measure little doses from each and mix them together. Once she had accomplished this, Tae poured the resulting thick liquid into a plastic pill mold, pressing them into shape. "Be careful with it," she told Kohaku, handing him the piece of plastic. "It'll take a while to dry. You are to take one a day until they're all gone." He nodded his understanding a little too vigorously, causing a fresh wave of pain to flow through his skull.

"Migraine, huh?" Tae asked, noticing him wince. "Hardly surprising with that lump on your head."

"Rai said something about that," Mizuki spoke up, re-entering the room with his arms full of ice.

"Who the hell is Rai?" Tae narrowed her eyes. "Is that you?" she turned to Daichi. He shook his head frantically.

"I'm Rai," the deep voice spoke up.

Tae looked around but saw no one else in the room with them. "Well, where are you?" she barked impatiently.

"Here," Rai replied. His wings changed to their blue color and he flew into the air, landing on the back of the sofa.

Tae squinted to get a better look at him. "An allmate?" she asked. "I didn't know they made them that small. My grandson found this junky old one in the trash a while back. He did nothing but try and fix it for days. Waste of time if you ask me," the old lady grumbled to herself. Despite her irritated tone it was still evident she cared deeply for her grandson. Every time she mentioned him she had a gleam of pride and, oddly enough, concern in her eyes.

"Did he succeed?" Kohaku sat up, suddenly interested.

"Watch it!" Tae hissed as a cascade of ice rained down on the floor. Mizuki hurried forward to pick it up. "And he most certainly did," she told Kohaku. "The contraption isn't all that bad, really. It has a better attitude than most of those cheeky robots."

"Oh," Kohaku sunk back down, looking disappointed. Tae payed no attention to his sudden change in mood.

"What did you say about his migraine?" she addressed the butterfly.

"A scan of Kohaku revealed his serotonin levels had dropped significantly, indicating that damage to the functionality of his brain stem could be imminent," Rai replied.

"You're right there," Tae spoke up. "But it's nothing anybody has to worry about now that you've got him here. Aoba has chronic migraines himself. I had to make him a special medication for it. You can have some of his pills. It isn't too difficult to make some more."

"Thank you Tae-san," Mizuki let out a sigh of relief.

"Yes, thank you," Kohaku added, smiling gratefully at her.

"It's nothing," Tae waved her hand dismissively at them. "I'll just go fetch it out of the cupboard." She got up and headed into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry to have scared you, Kohaku," Rai fluttered his wings as he spoke.

"It's fine," Kohaku reassured him. "She said herself you were right. It just wasn't quite as imminent as it sounded."

"I shall make sure to cross check the data on progression of chemical imbalances within the brain the next time this issue comes up," Rai stated.

"You do that," Kohaku laughed at how professional he sounded. Rai fluttered back to his shoulder, though he didn't try to disguise himself this time.

"Here it is," Tae returned, carrying a bottle of pills. "I have to save a few for Aoba in case he has a sudden attack today, but you can have the rest."

"Thank you," Kohaku told her, taking the bottle and slipping it into his jeans pocket.

"Take one now," she barked gruffly. "Mizuki, fetch the boy a glass of water."

"Yes ma'm," Mizuki hurried to the sink. He reappeared a moment later with the glass of water in hand. "Here you go," he said as he handed it to Kohaku. Kohaku smiled his thanks before popping a pill in his mouth and washing it down.

"It'll take a little while to kick in," Tae warned. "Until then, how about I hear your names."

Kohaku realized then that, with all the action, they had neglected to introduce themselves. Before he could open his mouth, Mizuki spoke up.

"Sorry Tae-san," he laughed apologetically. "These are my friends Kohaku and Daichi," he gestured to them each in turn.

"Members of your little street gang, I take it?" Tae asked.

Daichi opened his mouth timidly to protest. Even with someone as intimidating as Tae, he still didn't like people taking Dry Juice lightly. Mizuki cut in before he could get a word out.

"Yeah," Mizuki smiled at her, "they're in Dry Juice with me."

"Hardly difficult to guess, what with that one you brought me having his face beat in. And pretty much the rest of him as well," she growled, a faint hint of disapproval in his voice.

"We do our best to stay out of trouble, Tae-san." Mizuki was by far the calmest in her presence. Some of what she said about ribsteez teams seemed to put Daichi off, but Mizuki didn't seem to mind at all, regarding her with nothing but respect.

"Sure you do," Tae grumbled in disbelief. There was a pause for a moment. "Well, I suppose since you're here, I can bake something."

"Oh, you don't have to-" Kohaku began, not wanting to give her any trouble after she'd just helped them.

"That sounds great!" Mizuki interrupted. He didn't seem to be saying so just to be polite. There was real enthusiasm in his eyes from the suggestion.

"You can tell this one's had my cooking," Tae laughed. It was the first time Kohaku had seen her smile. "I'll whip up some rolls." She ambled off into the kitchen, eager to get started.

"That lady," Daichi whispered as soon as she'd left the room, "is terrifying!"

"She's not as scary as she seems once you get to know her," Mizuki laughed at his friend.

"Let me get this straight," Kohaku sat up a little, careful not to let any of the ice fall off. He shivered as a cold trail of water ran down his back from where the ice had begun to melt. "You can call Outlast, our biggest rival and threat, a bunch of cowards. You can challenge some punk on the street twice your size and take him down in ten minutes flat-"

"Five minutes!" Daichi interrupted, puffing up proudly. Mizuki snorted at his friend's exaggerated boast.

"-but when it comes to an elderly lady who doesn't even reach your shoulders, you're scared?" Kohaku finished.

"Shut up!" Daichi snapped, turning slightly red. Mizuki burst out laughing at Daichi's reaction while Kohaku just smiled, pleased with himself.

"Come on, we're just teasing you," Mizuki slapped a disgruntled Daichi on the back. "We won't tell any of the guys " Daichi just glared at the two of them. He knew it was a joke, but he could still be rather touchy when it came to his pride.

"Alright, I'm sorry," Kohaku apologized. "I was only kidding."

"Pretty big words from a guy who was cowering himself," Daichi grinned, finally getting over the blow to his ego. "Especially when we both know I could take you down any day."

"Oh yeah!" Kohaku joked back. "Prove it! Lets go right here, right now." He put up his fists pretending to throw some punches at Daichi's knees, as he couldn't hit any higher due to his position on the couch.

Just then there was a clattering from the other room. "Quiet down in there!" Tae screeched, far louder than any of them were being. "I don't need noise complaints from the neighbors!"

"Sorry Tae-san," Mizuki called. As soon as he heard her voice, Daichi had shrunk back involuntarily, as though afraid she'd come in and beat him with a kitchen spoon.

Though no one was injured by any cooking ware, the rolls did turn out delicious. They were by far the best Kohaku had ever tasted, and he understood now why Mizuki had been so eager for Tae to bake. When they inquired about the cost for his treatment, Tae tried to brush them off, saying there was no payment necessary since Mizuki was a friend of her grandson's. Kohaku and Mizuki both insisted on some form of payment, though, and in the end she had them pay for the cost of the ingredients in the rolls, grumbling about how they practically ate the whole batch. Despite her words, she seemed secretly pleased that they had enjoyed her baking. Mizuki and Kohaku said their thanks and goodbyes to her while Daichi stood awkwardly in the background, fidgeting nervously. He let out a sigh of relief once Tae had shut the door.

"Where to, boss?" Daichi grinned, helping Mizuki support Kohaku back to the car. The Dry Juice leader looked slightly green at the thought of getting back in the rusty hunk of metal. "Drop us off at Kohaku's place," he instructed, lowering his injured teammate into the back seat. "I'm going to keep an eye on this one until night hits." He cocked his head at Kohaku. "You go and tell the boys we're having a meeting tonight. We need to discuss Outlast and what actions we plan to take."

"You got it," Daichi nodded. It was about noon now, so the crowds on Aoyagi street had thickened considerably since morning. Despite the slow pace Daichi's car had to crawl to make it through the throngs, Mizuki forbid him from announcing they were Dry Juice. Eventually they made it down to the south district, and Daichi was able to turn off from the main road.

"My house is just a little further that way," Kohaku pointed. "You've got to go through a few back streets to get there, so I'll direct you." Daichi nodded. The car rolled over a pothole in the road, causing the front bumper to scrape against the ground. They all winced at the screech of metal on pavement, and Mizuki looked especially unnerved.

"I will never ride in this thing again as long as I live," he murmured, clutching the seat despite the fact they were barely going twenty miles an hour.

"Come on boss, she's not that bad," Daichi patted the dashboard affectionately. "She just needs some sweet talking to-"

"What the hell?!" Kohaku exclaimed, interrupting Daichi's statement. He had been staring out the window, not paying attention to the others' conversation when he saw it. "Mizuki, look!"

The Dry Juice leader followed Kohaku's gaze. His eyes widened as he saw what Kohaku had pointed out. "Damn it," he spat, his face twisted with rage.

"Oh shit," Daichi murmured, stopping the car.

"Those bastards," Mizuki growled, looking as though he'd rip the head off of the first person that approached him. Kohaku shrank back at the sight of his leader. He had only ever seen him that angry once before, and it was not exactly a fond memory.

Cautiously, he turned his sight back to what he had first pointed out. There on the wall was a Dry Juice symbol, painted to mark their turf, just like the many others that had been painted all over their territory. Only this one was practically gone, sprayed over with black. Right next to it, the paint still fresh, stood the depiction of a figure jumping from a building: the symbol of Outlast.


	4. Dry Juice

"I want to go!" Kohaku argued, trying to get out of his bed while Mizuki pushed him down.

"You can barely even walk without help!" Mizuki exclaimed. "What you need is rest."

"I've been resting all day!" Kohaku retorted. "And the Dry Juice base isn't very far from here!"

"It's far enough," Mizuki said in exasperation. "I don't have time to argue with you, I have to get there."

"Then let me come!" Kohaku wrestled with him as Mizuki tried to hold him down.

"Damn it, Kohaku!" Mizuki hissed. "You just got your skull bashed in and you're already trying to get back out on the streets?"

"Maybe I just hang around too many stubborn jackasses," Kohaku grunted, only half joking. "Tae's medicine is working great! I can't even feel the migraine!"

"You sure as hell can feel your back now, though," Mizuki told him. "I've been with you all day. You couldn't stop groaning until those pills dried so you could take some for the swelling." To make his point clear he pressed down on Kohaku's shoulder, pushing his upper back gingerly but firmly against the mattress. Kohaku cried out in pain from the simple touch, and Mizuki released his shoulder instantly. "It isn't numb there anymore, is it?" he asked earnestly, looking remorseful.

"I don't care," Kohaku choked back the painful tears welling in his eyes. "I'm not going to miss this."

"I'll come back and tell you all that we talked about," Mizuki snapped impatiently, glancing worriedly at the clock over Kohaku's stove. "Damn it, I'm going to be late," he muttered. He thought for a minute. "You owe me this!" Mizuki blurted out desperately, using his last card.

"I owe you a lot more than one meeting," Kohaku spoke quietly. There was a pause as the two stared each other down. "I'm going to this one!" he snapped, breaking the silence.

"I won't allow it!" Mizuki raised his voice, getting irritated.

"You're the one who said we can't go anywhere alone!" Kohaku shouted back. Mizuki's eyes widened in surprise. There was a long silence after this, Mizuki staring down at his friend while he glared up at him.

"Is that what this is about?" the Dry Juice leader finally asked.

Kohaku looked away, glaring at something over Mizuki's shoulder. "Wouldn't want you to get that pretty face messed up," he muttered, trying to lighten the moment while still looking cross, refusing to meet his friend's eyes. "You can barely find yourself a girlfriend as it is."

Another silence followed. Slowly, the corners of Mizuki's mouth turned up into a grin. He began to laugh, quietly at first, but getting louder until he was gasping for breath.. "What?" Kohaku asked, confused by Mizuki's reaction. "It wasn't that funny."

"No," Mizuki snorted. "You're just ridiculous." He punched Kohaku playfully in the arm, causing his friend to wince as he hit a bruise. "Oh shit, sorry," Mizuki sputtered as Kohaku rubbed the spot he'd hit. "I forgot."

"Does this mean I can go?" Kohaku asked, ignoring his apology.

Mizuki sighed, looking reluctant. "Whatever," he shrugged. "If it'll give you peace of mind."

"Good," Kohaku grinned. "What are you waiting for then? You'll make us late!"

The Dry Juice base was full of people, milling around, greeting friends, all waiting for the meeting to start. There were at least thirty guys ranging from mid teens to late twenties, with the oldest getting the seats on the few couches arranged haphazardly about, and the rest leaning against walls or pacing around. The atmosphere of the place was tense, and nervous muttering filled the air with a low hum.

A door creaked open and Mizuki entered the old warehouse, supporting Kohaku. Kohaku had an especially pained expression on his face. Now that his back was no longer numb, walking was pretty much agony. Every twitch of a muscle and each movement of his spine sent another wave of pain throughout his body. He refused to cry out, though, gritting his teeth together to hold his voice back. Mizuki led him over to a couch, and without his having to say a word the men sitting on it got up, a few stepping forward to help him lower Kohaku onto it. The injured man winced when his back met the surface, shutting his eyes tight, but still he didn't complain. There was another collective murmur as the crowd eyed Kohaku, but they fell silent once more as Mizuki ascended the staircase against the left wall. He paused a few steps up, only going high enough so the crowd could all see him.

Mizuki took a breath, while the rest of the room seemed to be holding theirs. "As I'm sure many of you have already heard," he began, gazing out across the sea of faces, "Our friend Kohaku was attacked last night." Half the room seemed to turn and look at Kohaku. "This was an isolated incident that happened through a chance encounter. He was out alone and ran into a small rib team. Despite being warned that he was from Dry Juice, they chose to attack anyways. We taught those cocky bastards a lesson they won't forget anytime soon."

Quiet laughter rose from the group, the ones who had been there exchanging grins with one another. "That incident was resolved," Mizuki continued, and the room fell silent again. "However, prior to this accident, our friend Kohaku was being pursued by a much more well-known rib team." The men eyed each other, those who had already gotten the news exchanging knowing glances, while the rest looked confused. No one opened their mouth to question, though. Mizuki had everyone's attention. "Outlast," at this word, the nervous muttering broke out again. Mizuki had only to hold up a hand and the warehouse quieted.

"Outlast has been growing bigger these last few months, and therefore, getting more confident. Kohaku is the third person from Dry Juice this month alone that they have followed. We have been very lucky that no one has been hurt yet, as at first their movements were sloppy. However, they are getting more experienced. One of them tried to track Kohaku's allmate as he was getting away, and they would have succeeded if he hadn't powered it down. Due to their growing aggression, I am making it mandatory that after night fall, no member of Dry Juice is allowed to go out alone."

Chattering broke out. "So we're going to let them scare us?" One man called out above the rest. Kohaku didn't have to turn his head to know who it was. The man, named Haruto, was always bickering with Mizuki.

"No," Mizuki sighed. "We're ensuring that none of our members end up hurt or killed. It's for your own safety.'

"But if they're already getting confident enough to challenge us, then letting them know we're worried by them will only get them more cocky," Haruto retorted. "If they're following us now, next they'll be attacking us outright."

"The whole point of this rule is to keep you from being attacked," Mizuki spoke in exasperation.

"Showing them we're worried by their actions will send them the message that we are weak and vulnerable to attack," Haruto yelled out. "We have to act now! If we hit them hard, they'll know that Dry Juice is strong, and they'll think twice before messing with us again!" There were some nods of approval from Haruto's friends.

"Staying in groups will prevent them from taking any actions, and will give us time to plan our next move," Mizuki reasoned.

"Our next move is to fight!" Haruto retorted. There was a roar of approval from his sympathizers.

"I started Dry Juice," Mizuki yelled over the crowd. "To protect those I cared about! Not to charge head first into whatever childish skirmish is happening at the time!" The people died down, giving their leader all their attention. "We are the largest and strongest ribsteez group for one reason, and one reason only. Because we care!" Shouts and cheers followed this, and Mizuki continued right on over them. "We care about one another, we take care of one another, and we protect one another. Because if we don't, who will? The government won't. The police sure as hell won't. Shit, a lot of the blood families of the people you see here don't even give a damn! We are our own family!" The roar in the room grew louder, echoing off the walls. "And family doesn't throw each other needlessly into harm's way. True family looks out for one another. That's what we've been doing and that's what we'll keep doing! We fight because we have to. We fight because if we don't, we'll get beaten into the goddamn earth. And in this world, if you don't stand up as soon as they've knocked you down, then you'll never get up again!"

Haruto was shouting something but he couldn't be heard over the deafening cheers and whoops coming from the men. "Yes, we will fight. But only once there's no other way to save our family. Only once it is clear that, to keep our boys from getting pummeled, we'll have to do some hitting. We will not risk the health and lives of the people we care about because some thugs decided to play follow the leader. We will not send any man here to the hospital, or worse, the morgue, until it is certain that his sacrifice is necessary!"

Kohaku grinned. He was the only person in the room who had remained silent during all this. He locked eyes with Mizuki, smiling proudly at his leader.

"These street thugs are beneath us!" Mizuki continued. "They don't know the meaning of the word family. All they want is to make this world a little harder to live in. They do not deserve our attention! Will we give it to them?"

"No!" the crowd shouted.

"Will we sink to their level?"

"No!"

"Will we honor the reason why Dry Juice exists?"

"Yes!"

"Will we put each other before some stupid turf war?'

"Yes!"

"This is our true pride! This is our true courage! This is the reason why we are feared and respected! Because we dared to do what nobody else would. We dared to be more than the greedy, ignorant filth that thinks they have a right to these streets as soon as the sun goes down. What kind of coward only feels safe in the dark? We can walk out in broad daylight and have no reason to look over our shoulder. We are safe, knowing that we care and have those who care about us. We are not alone. We, my friends, are Dry Juice!"

At the close of his speech the volume reached earsplitting levels. Mizuki stood back and grinned, watching proudly as his men thumped each other on the back and celebrated their identity. Haruto and his supporters had faded back into the crowd long ago, clearly defeated. The Dry Juice leader waited patiently for the noise to die off, exchanging excited looks with Kohaku. When it finally was quiet, he opened his mouth once more.

"This is not all the news I have for you today," he spoke gravely, his face becoming serious once more. "Though it would be pointless to start a war that can be avoided, action must be taken against Outlast immediately. They have insulted us beyond what can be overlooked. Today, as Daichi, Kohaku, and I were returning to the South district, we discovered that the upper corner of our territory had been marked with Outlast symbols."

A hiss arose, followed by angry shouts. Mizuki waited once more for calm to settle over the men. "The cowards took the opportunity while Dry Juice was inactive the other night to directly challenge us. This will not go by unpunished." Shouts of approval followed these words. "After the meeting, I will need volunteers to repaint our symbols where they belong. But more importantly, I will need groups of men willing to risk possible combat. Since they have tried to take a corner of our territory, we shall take a corner of theirs." More cheers of approval. "Only we will take it boldly, not waiting for them to be away from their turf. And when daylight hits, we will not run away and hide in the shadows. We will walk proudly through the streets of our new territory, and we will keep it no matter what!"

With all the noise they were making, Kohaku was surprised the police hadn't shown up. Then again, Dry Juice was so well known that even the police were reluctant to mess with them. "I am sure you will encounter members of Outlast as we do this," Mizuki informed his team members. "You are not to engage them unless the throw the first punch. I want a clean night, but if there is no way around it, feel free to give them hell!"

With a final cheer, the men began to break up into groups, planning which tasks they would be doing this evening. Mizuki weaved in and out of them, assigning forces of two or three to repaint their symbols and larger groups of five to eight to take the new territory. He organized two patrols as well, giving them the task of ensuring their current territory was secure. Once this was accomplished he headed over to Kohaku.

"I'm leading a group into the Outlast territory," he informed him. "I've arranged for one of the repainting pairs to take you home before they get to their task. And don't even think about arguing, " he snapped before Kohaku could say anything. "If you won't think of your own health, then think of you teammates. In your condition, if trouble arose you would only slow them down."

"I know," Kohaku spoke reluctantly. "But-"

"If you know, then there's nothing more to discuss," Mizuki narrowed his eyes at him.

"Just hear me out," Kohaku told him. "The repainting crews have the least dangerous job. You know I'm good with a spray can, and you were going to have one of their groups take me back anyway. How about I stick with them instead and help repaint our symbols?" Mizuki opened his mouth to argue but Kohaku rushed on before he could get a word out. "And anyway, you can't spare anybody to look after me or guard me right now, right? So I'd be safer with them."

Mizuki was quiet for a moment, thinking it over. "Fine," he sighed. "But don't do anything stupid, or I'll make sure you regret it," he threatened, even though they both knew he wasn't being serious. "Really, though," Mizuki lowered his voice. "Stick with your group, and don't do anything other than repaint. If you run into trouble, let them handle it. And go straight home as soon as you're done."

"Of course," Kohaku replied lightheartedly.

"Promise me." Mizuki didn't drop his serious tone. He stared straight into Kohaku's eyes, making the latter feel slightly uncomfortable, as though he were a mouse being eyed by a hawk.

"I promise," Kohaku told him. They stared each other down for a moment longer before Mizuki straightened up.

"Good," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow." He reached down and ruffled Kohaku's hair.

"Hey!" his friend protested, pushing his hand away.

"You stay out of trouble now!" Mizuki called over his shoulder as he disappeared into the crowd.

"You stay out of trouble too," Kohaku whispered, even though his friend was gone. He gazed after him, worry etched over his face. "And damn it, Mizuki, don't get hurt."


	5. Outlast

"No, you're holding it wrong," Kohaku sighed, taking the spray paint can from his younger team member once again. "If you keep your finger over the nozzle like that you'll get paint everywhere."

His teammate glared in frustration as he watched once more."If I'd known it'd be this hard to spray paint out of a god damn can I would've volunteered to knock some heads instead," he grumbled. Taking the can back, he began to shake it up while pressing the nozzle.

"Nori!" Kohaku exclaimed, calling out the boy's name. "You don't spray it while you're shaking it!"

"But you just said-"

"I said not to block the nozzle while you spray! This isn't bug repellent!"

"I'll help him," a deep voice spoke up. Souta came forward, looking as serious as ever. "You can go paint over the symbol on that wall," he beckoned to the spot he had been working on.

"Thank you," Kohaku sighed in relief, staring up at him meekly. He knew Souta was about as gentle they came outside of a street fight, but he still couldn't help but be slightly intimidated by his height. Even though he was only twenty-one years old, Souta was the tallest person in all of Dry Juice, and maybe, Kohaku sometimes secretly thought, the whole city. His long black hair and the several scars stretching across his face didn't make him look any friendlier. All in all, he had the appearance of someone dangerous, but the personality of a caring and generous soul.

"It was nice working with you too!" Nori snapped as Kohaku strolled away. This kid, on the other hand, was pretty much the complete opposite of Souta. He was shorter than average, though not so short as to stand out. Nori spiked his bright red hair up so sharply that it looked like you could cut yourself on it. His personality seemed to coincide with this, as though it had been styled to match his hair. He had a fiery temper and was always picking fights with others, especially if they were twice his size. Nori hated being left out of anything or being underestimated, and he was always looking for opportunities to make his presence known in as loud and often times violent a way as possible.

Despite all their differences, Souta and Nori had always gotten along surprisingly well. Nori was new to Dry Juice. He had come from a smaller ribsteez group, only joining this one sometime last year. Due to his obnoxious personality, he wasn't able to make many friends. In fact, Souta seemed to be the only person who could put up with him. Whenever there was cause to group up, Nori sought out Souta, and likewise, whenever Nori needed help with something, Souta would be there. Kohaku suspected the only reason Nori had ended up on the repainting crew when he would've much rather been out fighting was because of Souta. Their tall, quiet companion hated violence, and tried to avoid it as much as possible. This only made it more surprising that he and Nori could even stand each other in the first place.

Kohaku brushed these thoughts away. No matter how much he wondered about it, trying to figure out how those two worked together did nothing more than take up time and leave him even more confused. He limped over to the wall he had to work on, leaving those two to whatever mysterious connection they shared. Souta had already laid down the background in paint, leaving just the details to be added. Kohaku shook up a can, not pressing down the nozzle while he did because everyone minus Nori knew you're not supposed to do that. He began to spray in the shapes, forming the words Dry Juice and the cracked skull that resided over it.

Just then he saw a slight flicker of motion out of the corner of his eye. Kohaku tensed up instinctively, the muscles of his back screaming in pain. He bit his lip to keep from crying out and spun in the direction he had seen the disturbance. There was nothing. Kohaku narrowed his eyes, searching the dark alley for any unusual shapes or forms. He listened intently for the sound of footsteps or breathing. Still, he saw nothing out of the ordinary, and all was completely silent other than Nori chatting in the background.

Cautiously he turned back, keeping watch on the area out of the corner of his eye. He glanced over at Nori and Souta to see if they had noticed anything. Nori was oblivious to his surroundings, talking nonstop and cursing while he held the can the wrong way yet again. Souta, on the other hand, had noticed Kohaku jump, and shot him a questioning look. Kohaku waited a moment longer to ensure that they were alone before shaking his head at his teammate. Relieved, the tall man adjusted Nori's hand on the paint can, giving him quiet instructions.

Kohaku relaxed as well, shooting one more wary glance down the alley. It was only then he realized that there was a rusty taste in his mouth. Kohaku had been biting down so hard to keep himself from crying out in pain, he had drawn blood. He relaxed his jaw, licking the blood from his lips.

He must have just been imagining that movement. Kohaku had been rather paranoid since those kids attacked him. Besides, if there was any danger, Rai would've alerted him immediately. Satisfied, Kohaku turned back to his work. He had just completed all the details on the skull when something moved at edge of his vision again, closer this time. Kohaku jerked around, ignoring the wave of pain that shot through him. Still, he couldn't see anything but an empty street.

"Rai," he whispered urgently. There was no answer. "Rai?" Silence was his only reply. He reached up to his right shoulder. Finding nothing there, he tried the left. No butterfly was perched on either. Panic began to well up in him as his mind raced. Kohaku's breath caught in his throat as he spotted a thin protrusion in the wall only a few feet away. It was completely still, just outside of the circle of light cast by the street lamp. He stared at it intensely, trying to make out its exact form. Had that vent shaft always been there?

Just then his eyes widened as he recognized the supposed vent for the outline of a human figure. He opened his mouth to warn the others right as the person lunged for him. Strong hands clamped over his mouth and grasped at his throat, lifting Kohaku straight off the ground. He flailed around, clawing at the arm suppressing his windpipe. The paint can fell from his hand and in a single spark of hope Kohaku realized it would alert the others when it clattered to the ground. He watched in vain, however, as nimble hands shot out from another concealed person, catching it just before it could hit the pavement. Kohaku thrashed as he was dragged back into the shadows. His legs connected with something soft and he heard someone curse quietly. Before he could kick again, more hands grabbed his feet and bore him away from the safety of the light and his companions.

His vision began to blur as the lack of air caught up with him. Kohaku's struggles became more feeble until his arms finally dropped limply to his sides. 'Oh,' Kohaku thought just before he blacked out. 'I was so busy bickering with Mizuki earlier that I forgot to take Rai.' And with that, his mind fell silent.

Mizuki laughed with the others as Daichi swore at his car. The scrap of metal had broken down right as they reached their first target for taking Outlast's territory. "No offense Daichi," Mizuki patted his friend's back. "But I sincerely hope that thing never runs again."

"I should've just left it at the base," Daichi groaned, pounding his fist on the hood. "Whatever. We here to kick some Outlast ass or what?" There was a whoop of approval from the others.

"Unless Outlast decides they want to get their asses kicked themselves," Mizuki shot Daichi a warning glance, "we're just here to paint over their shitty symbols and get some new turf."

"Yeah, yeah," Daichi waved his hand dismissively. "If I don't get to beat some Outlast I can always take you out," he guffawed, play tackling Mizuki into a wall.

"Ha!" Mizuki scoffed, grinning. "As if you're scrawny ass is any match for me!" He pushed his friend away. "Now quit messing around. We've got a lesson to teach these bastards."

Before them on the building was the familiar symbol of a figure jumping from a skyscraper. The dark blue and bright yellow of the symbol clashed with each other as though they had been chosen at the last minute. 'Seriously,' Mizuki thought, 'We're pretty much doing them a favor.'

"Catch," Mizuki tossed a paint can to one of the men. "You three can start painting." He indicated to the three most artistic of the bunch. "The rest of us will keep watch."

"Watch for what?" A voice rang out. Instantly the whole group spun around. A figure was walking towards them, surrounded by several others. "Not expecting company, are you?" The man speaking stepped into the street light, allowing Mizuki to clearly make out his face. It was Akio, leader of Outlast. He grinned mockingly at them, glaring steadily into Mizuki's eyes. Akio wasn't all that impressive looking. He wore only gray and had no distinguishing scars, tattoos, or even features. Just a boy with dark hair and black eyes. However, it wasn't his appearance that had made him the leader of Outlast.

"Akio," Mizuki greeted him coldly.

"I'm afraid you must have made a wrong turn," Akio took a step closer, his men surrounding him. "As you can see from that symbol behind you, this is our territory."

"Not anymore," Mizuki informed him. "It seems that you guys thought you were big enough to snatch our turf when we were out. Now we're correcting your mistake."

"Oh, that?" Akio laughed. "That was a surprise for you! We thought that corner of town could use some redecorating."

"Well, I'm sorry," Mizuki hissed, "but I'll be returning that gift. Now I suggest you leave so that we can continue taking what is ours."

"It's not nice to keep to yourself," Akio's grin widened, along with his eyes. "How about we share? We can be best of friends."

"Go to hell," Mizuki scoffed. He picked up a paint can.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Akio warned, the crazed smile remaining stretched across his face as he continued to feign polite conversation.

"It's a shame you're not more like me," Mizuki smirked. "There'd be one less piece of dirt to be swept off the streets." He pressed his finger on the nozzle. Paint flew from the can, leaving a dark spot on the Outlast symbol, each drop a separate insult to their rivals. The moment he had done this, the Outlast members sprang forward. Only Akio stayed back, his crazed grin widening.

Just like that, the street turned to chaos. Everywhere was a whirl of fists and kicking feet. Cries of pain and anger filled the air as the men tore at one another. One of the rivals went straight for Mizuki. Before he could reach Mizuki, the Dry Juice leader lashed out, striking him across the head with the paint can and simultaneously kicking his feet out from under him. It only took a quick kick to his skull to knock him out, and Mizuki swiftly stepped over the man to get to his next opponent. Not being patient enough to wait for someone to come to him, he dragged the nearest rival off of one of his teammates and punched them square in the face, breaking their nose. The Outlast member howled as blood sprayed from his nose, dodging back to avoid another hit from Mizuki.

The man swung his fist in retaliation but Mizuki ducked, hitting him in the gut. He went down hard, clutching his bruised ribs. Before the Dry Juice leader could do anything else, there was a flicker of motion at the corner of his eye. He had just enough time to spin around and take a hit full in his face, knocked to the side by the force of a fist meeting his jaw. He leaped away from the next blow, and the next. The man kept swinging tirelessly and Mizuki kept dodging, forced back each time. He watched carefully for an opening. As soon as he'd spotted one, he was hit from behind.

"Don't worry," a familiar voice whispered uncomfortably close to his ear. "I've got your back." Akio's fist sunk deep into his side, knocking the breath from his lungs.

"Bastard," Mizuki spat hoarsely. "Coward!" The other Outlast member took that moment to lunge. Seeing him coming head on, Mizuki struck out with his leg and kicked him in the ribs, pushing him back. He whirled around to face Akio but found himself only staring at empty space.

"That's not very nice," the mocking voice rang out from behind him, once again far too close. Before Mizuki could respond he had been struck in the side again, right in the same spot. His organs seemed to heave and he coughed violently, spitting on the ground. "After I'm watching your back and everything!"

"Shut up and face me!" Mizuki screamed, swinging his fist around. Quick as lightning, Akio jumped out of reach. Mizuki swung again and again, each time just barely missing. Right then a heavy weight slammed into him from behind and he fell forward. He swore silently to himself. He had been trying so hard to get Akio he had forgotten about the other man.

Akio reached out and caught him. "So clumsy," he sighed. His actions gave off the sickening impression of an older brother scolding his foolish sibling. Before Mizuki could move, Akio punched him, targeting that same spot, and dropped him carelessly like a toy that was no longer fun. Mizuki gasped as he hit the ground, his side screaming in pain. Instantly another Outlast member was on top of him, pummeling his head and chest. Mizuki threw his arms up to shield himself, searching frantically for the Outlast leader. He was nowhere to be found, having disappeared into the crowd to find a new victim.

Irritated at being thrown away so easily, Mizuki caught the man's wrist in his hand and jerked him sideways, burying his fist in his stomach to throw him off. Immediately the Dry Juice leader was on his feet, kicking his former attacker mercilessly. "Mizuki," a voice called out. "Mizuki, stop!" The leader payed no attention, blinded by anger and the splitting pain in his side. A hand reached out and grabbed his shoulder. Mizuki spun around, fist poised to strike. Daichi leaped back, throwing his hands up to shield himself. "Stop," Daichi repeated. "Look!"

Mizuki glanced around. His teammates were grouped together, stretching sore joints and examining bruises. The last stragglers of Outlast were dashing down the street, and the man he had been kicking jumped up and raced after them. "Damn, you taught taught that guy one hell of a lesson!" Daichi laughed. "I wouldn't trade places with him if you offered me anything in the world!"

"That coward," Mizuki growled, thinking of Akio. "He always does this. He always starts a fight, only stays as long as it's fun for him, then turns tail and runs. That piece of shit doesn't have any consideration for his men or their best interests!"

"Akio got to you?" Daichi's demeanor changed, suddenly concerned. "Let me see." Mizuki raised his shirt, revealing the massive red and purple bruise from where Akio had hit him. "Shit," Daichi spoke quietly. "That's definitely Akio."

"The son of a bitch always targets one spot," Mizuki grimaced, putting his shirt back down.

"You might have some broken ribs," Daichi frowned.

"I'm alright," Mizuki shook his head. "It didn't take the freak that long to lose interest in the fight and beat it."

"Did you at least get some hits in yourself?" Daichi asked.

"How could I?" Mizuki spat bitterly. "The bastard's so fast you can barely see him move!" He winced as he took a step forward, his side protesting violently. "What about you?" Mizuki asked. "Are you alright?"

"I got lucky," Daichi grinned. "Those idiots barely even grazed me!" Just to make sure, Mizuki examined him closely. True to his word, there was only some light bruising on his face and shoulder. Looking around, it seemed that Daichi had fared the best out of all of them. The other team members' bruises were pretty ugly, though none as bad as the one Akio had left under Mizuki's ribs.

"Is anyone seriously hurt?" Mizuki addressed his team, attempting to stand up straight. The men shook their heads, glancing carefully at each other. "Good," Mizuki grinned. "Then let's get back to work."


	6. Fear

"How long until the boss gets here?"

"I don't know. He only wanted to torment the bastards, so it shouldn't be too long now."

Kohaku couldn't make sense of the voices in his head. What he did know was that his migraine was back with a vengeance, and even though the voices were hushed, he still felt a heavy throb of pain with each word.

"What are we even supposed to do with him?"

"He said not to kill him, so he's got some sort of plan in mind. I don't see what makes this kid so special, though."

The silence that followed allowed Kohaku's headache to ease up a tiny bit, giving him room to think. It was only then that he realized the voices weren't in his head but must be coming from two people nearby. He opened his eyes. Or at least, he thought he had. The same darkness greeted him, leaving him blind to his surroundings. Confused, he shifted his head slightly, gritting his teeth at the wave of pain that followed. There was something rough against his skin. A blindfold. Kohaku tried to gingerly move his hands and feet in turn, but found that they were bound tight with rope.

"Seems like someone's awake," one of the voices spoke up, closer to him than it had been before. "I wouldn't bother struggling," it added. "There's no way you're getting away from us."

"Let me guess," Kohaku's voice came out raspy. "Outlast?"

"Got a sarcastic one here," the other voice laughed. "We didn't bother gagging you since he said you wouldn't scream."

"Who said that?" Kohaku asked, confused. The obvious answer would have been Akio. He was their leader, after all. But Kohaku had never even met the Outlast boss in person, so it wouldn't make sense for him to know that Kohaku wouldn't cry for help.

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't watch your mouth though," the man continued over him, ignoring his question. "After all, you should respect your superiors."

"I have no interest in groveling to cowards that act big," Kohaku sighed as though he were bored. Despite his tough act, his heart was racing in his chest, echoing the pace of the throbbing in his head.

"What?!" The first man hissed, stepping closer. Kohaku heard the familiar sound of a switch blade flicking open and he cringed.

"No," the other man spoke up. "We're not supposed to hurt ," he added maliciously. "Besides, there are more effective ways of punishing him." The quiet laugh that followed this statement sent shivers down kohaku's spine.

"The boss wanted to be first," the other man spoke gruffly.

"And he will," the second man's tone had a dangerous hint of amusement in it. "I'm just going to play with him a little." Just then Kohaku felt a hand slip under his shirt. He cringed, expecting to be cut or hit, but it only trailed lightly up his waist

"What are you-" Kohaku hissed, confused. The stranger's fingers found his nipple and squeezed. "What the fuck!" Kohaku yelled. His mind whirled, still not able to process what was happening. "Let go!"

Only low, sickening laughter answered him. Another hand slipped onto his chest, tugging at his skin. "Don't touch me!" Kohaku spat, straining against the ropes binding his wrists and ankles. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Don't you want to try?" The man ignored Kohaku's protests, talking to his companion.

"I will when the boss gives the ok," the other man replied. "I don't feel like risking getting him pissed."

"Suit yourself," the second man shrugged. "I don't mind not sharing."

"Fuck you!" Kohaku spat, the ropes cutting into his skin as he strained against them.

"Are you sure you want to continue on like this," his molester taunted him. "That mouth is what got you into this mess in the first place."

"Go to hell you sick freak!" Kohaku yelled. Panic was quickly rising in him. His head felt like it would explode, his back ached from the old bruises, and his wrists and ankles stung as the binds bit into them. He couldn't see any way out of this situation. The man's fingers squeezed and tugged, making him feel sick. He shivered in dread as one of the hands made its way down his back.

Just as the man's hand found the waistline of his jeans there was a sudden crash. "What the-" the first man yelled, but he was interrupted by the sound of a fist hitting flesh.

"Hey!" the second man screeched, taking his hands off of Kohaku. More crashes followed, along with grunts and panting. Finally it fell silent, the only sound remaining of someone nearby breathing rapidly. Kohaku held his breath, quietly wishing whoever had attacked the Outlast members had won the fight. Heavy footsteps came towards him and a hand jerked the blindfold from his face. He was momentarily blinded by the light, squinting as it flooded his vision. Once his sight had adjusted he saw the familiar face of Souta, looking down at him with concern.

"Thank god!" Kohaku choked out. He realized for the first time that tears had been rolling down his face. He looked away quickly, trying to hide them. "I mean, it's about time you got here," he managed to say weakly, his voice catching in his throat.

"Dude," Nori's voice spoke up from somewhere behind Souta. "What the hell were those guys doing to you?"

"Quiet, Nori," Souta said briskly, sparing Kohaku the embarrassment of having to answer. "Give me your blade." He held out his hand and Nori appeared in Kohaku's line of sight, pouting because Souta had snapped at him. Still, he handed over his knife, and Souta proceeded to carefully cut Kohaku free. He helped Kohaku sit up, the latter quickly wiping away his tears on his shirt sleeve. "They aren't too deep," Souta informed them, examining the cuts on his wrists and ankles.

"We noticed you were gone," Nori chimed in. "Since they took you quietly we knew they couldn't have gone far. You weigh too much to carry to the other side of Midorijima."

"Thanks Nori," Kohaku rubbed his sore wrists, smearing fresh blood over them. Despite Nori's usual insensitive attitude, he couldn't help but relieved to see him.

"We lost them for a while but Souta climbed up a building like a freaking spider or something and saw a light on over here, so we headed this way," Nori ignored Kohaku's comment, rattling on. "Fucking perverts," he growled under his breath, kicking one of the unconscious men hard in the ribs.

Souta reached out and started to pat Kohaku down. "What are you doing?!" Kohaku flinched, shoving his hand away.

"I'm just checking to make sure they didn't put any sort of tracking device one you," Souta replied calmly, refraining from touching him.

"Oh," Kohaku spoke quietly. "Sorry." Souta smiled reassuringly and continued to search his teammate. Kohaku winced when Souta patted his hand across his chest.

"You're clean," Souta stood up, pulling Kohaku to his feet. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah," Kohaku murmured, dazed from his throbbing head. "They didn't," he paused a moment, gritting his teeth together. "They didn't hurt me." He limped forward, Souta staying at his side in case he needed assistance. Kohaku paused a moment at the man lying nearest to him. He clenched his fists. "You disgusting piece of shit!" he screeched, suddenly consumed by rage. He lashed out with his leg, kicking the man as hard as he could. Blinded by fury he struck over and over again, never stopping to breath.

"Kohaku!" Souta grabbed him from behind.

"No!" Kohaku screamed. "I'm going to kill them!"

"Sounds good to me," Nori shot the Outlast members poisonous stares.

"Nori, you're not helping!" Souta grunted as he dragged his struggling teammate away. Nori shrugged, refusing to meet Souta's eyes.

They got halfway down the street, Kohaku still thrashing around wildly. "Let me go!" he yelled. "I'll slit their throats!"

"That's enough!" Souta shoved him to the ground. Kohaku cried out as his bruised back met the concrete, his head swimming with pain. "Pull yourself together!" Kohaku tried to sit up, but he slumped back down, his vision shifting in and out of focus as the migraine intensified.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. It was only then that he noticed he was trembling violently. "I'm sorry." He shut his eyes tight, squeezing his fists into balls and biting down hard into his lip to prevent any tears from welling up.

Souta stood there for a moment, watching his friend shaking on the ground. He sighed, bending down to pick him up. Kohaku let him, suddenly too exhausted to care. "Our first priority is to get you home safe," Souta told him. Kohaku's only reply was a dull hiccup, digging his nails into Souta's arm as he trembled. The tall man ignored the sting from his fingernails, carrying him down the street with Nori jogging along to match his long stride.

'Mizuki,' the man had said. 'It's Kohaku.' The Dry Juice leader ran down the street, completely blind to his surroundings. The only thing he could focus on were those words. 'Damn it!' he cursed to himself. 'I shouldn't have let him go out. I should've forced him to go home. Hell, I should've gone there with him to make sure the idiot didn't try any heroics!'

"Mizuki!" Daichi called behind him, struggling to keep up. "Mizuki, wait!" The Dry Juice leader ignored him, barreling on ahead as fast as he could go.

'Mizuki,' the voice echoed in his head again, and he saw in his mind the concerned face of one of his men. 'Nori was here a while ago. He said a couple of men from Outlast kidnapped Kohaku. But Souta and Nori found him-'

'Where is he now?' Mizuki had blurted out.

'Souta stayed with him back at his house, and Nori headed back there-'

It was then that he had started running, not wasting another moment. Panic welled in his chest as he imagined what he would find when he got to Kohaku's house. He pictured his friend lying there, bleeding and broken-

No. Mizuki shook himself, concentrating on the road ahead. He couldn't let himself think of that now. He bolted around the corner, Kohaku's house now insight. Pushing himself on, he burst through the door of the shop and dashed up the steps to the apartment above. "Kohaku!" Mizuki exclaimed as he crashed through the door. Kohaku was propped up on his bed with Nori and Souta sitting by him. Nori and Kohaku jumped at the sudden commotion but Souta just turned around calmly to acknowledge his leader. "Kohaku!" Mizuki repeated, crossing the room. "What happened?"

"I'm alright," Kohaku spoke weakly, not meeting Mizuki's eyes.

"Some assholes from Outlast grabbed him and tried to kidnap him," Nori informed Mizuki. "We found them and beat their heads in."

"Are you hurt?!" Mizuki practically shouted.

"No, they didn't-" he paused, "hurt me."

"Well they sure as hell were trying something," Nori muttered darkly.

"Nori," Souta snapped, silencing him. Kohaku shot him a poisonous look.

"What is it?" Mizuki looked from one to the other. "What did they do?" All three were refusing to meet his gaze. Souta stared steadily at the wall ni front of him, Nori was studying his feet guiltily, and Kohaku looked down, shifting around uncomfortably. "What happened?" Mizuki repeated sternly.

Kohaku took a deep breath before opening his mouth. "They-" he began. "They- touched me." He forced out the second word, seeming to almost choke on it.

"What?" Mizuki asked, confused. His eyes widened with concern. "I thought you said they didn't hurt you! Where are you wounded?!" He jerked up Kohaku's shirt to examine him for injuries. Immediately Kohaku cried out, flinching back. Mizuki noted there were no fresh cuts or bruises just before his friend pulled his shirt back down, drawing his legs up tightly to his chest and beginning to tremble violently. "What?" Mizuki withdrew, even more confused than before.

"They didn't hurt me," Kohaku stammered, wrapping his arms tightly around himself. "They just- _touched_ -" he broke off there, his shaking becoming worse. Mizuki looked at him for a moment, his face etched with worry. Just then his eyes widened as he realized what Kohaku was saying.

"No," he whispered, shocked. He turned to Souta. "Did they-?" Souta shook his head and Mizuki slumped back, flooded with relief. This only lasted a moment, however, as fury sparked inside him. "Where are they," he spoke dangerously, looking to Souta for answers.

"No Mizuki," Souta replied, meeting his leader's fiery gaze steadily. Nori shrunk back as Mizuki turned his eyes to him.

"Where?!" he repeated, louder this time. Souta got up and stood between him and Nori.

"Getting revenge won't solve anything," Souta spoke calmly.

"Like hell it won't!" Mizuki spat. "I'm going to skin those bastards alive!"

"No," Souta said firmly. "Kohaku needs us right now. There will be time for action later, once everyone has a clear head." Mizuki looked over at the slumped, quivering form on the bed. His eyes softened and he nodded, defeated.

At that moment the door burst open and Daichi stumbled into the room, panting. "What-" he gasped, "happened?"

"Kohaku was attacked but he's not hurt," Mizuki spoke up before anyone else could answer. "He's just a bit shaken." Daichi nodded, leaning against the wall as he clutched at his sides. Mizuki turned back to Kohaku, sitting down next to him. "Kohaku?" he whispered. His only reply was a muffled sniff. Cautiously, he reached out towards his friend. When his fingertips touched his friend's shoulder Kohaku flinched back, his body racked by a sob. "It's just me," Mizuki spoke softly. He tried again. This time Kohaku didn't pull away, though he did stiffen when Mizuki's hand met his shoulder. Gently Mizuki pulled him against himself, wrapping his arms comfortingly around around the quaking figure. "I'm sorry," Mizuki whispered. "I'm so sorry. I should've made you go home. I should've stayed with you." Another sob. Kohaku buried his face deeper in his knees. "This is all my fault."

"Don't," Kohaku choked out. "Don't blame yourself."

"But if I had-" Mizuki began.

"Stop." Kohaku lifted his head up, revealing his tear streaked face. "It wasn't anyone's fault. No one could've known."

"But-"

"Stop," Kohaku interrupted. He pressed his forehead into Mizuki's shoulder. Mizuki felt his friend relax, leaning his body weight into him. "Just stop," Kohaku whispered. He sounded exhausted. Mizuki sighed, hugging his teammate. Several minutes passed before Kohaku's breathing slowed to a steady pace. Knowing he was asleep now Mizuki looked up at the others.

"No one leaves him alone," he looked at each of them in turn, daring anyone to object. "Not even for a moment." The other three nodded their consent.

"I can watch him first," Daichi offered quietly, having finally regained his breath. "You three look exhausted."

"I'm not going anywhere," Mizuki snapped, tightening his hold on Kohaku protectively as though Daichi had tried to drag him off.

"I'm not tired," Souta spoke up. "Nori, you need some rest. I'll make you a bed."

"I'm not tired either!" Nori protested, not liking being babied. He and Souta stared at each other before he finally sighed. "I'll make my own bed," he said reluctantly, crossing over to the linen closet. Souta was the only person Nori would back down too. And besides, despite his tough act, he really did look exhausted.

"Anyone want some tea?" Daichi asked, placing a kettle on Kohaku's small stove. Souta and Nori agreed but Mizuki shook his head. He held on tight to Kohaku as though afraid that fi he took his eyes off his friend for a moment he would disappear. Nori fell asleep almost instantly and Souta eventually nodded off himself. Daichi and Mizuki stayed wide awake together for the rest of the night, however, neither speaking a word.


	7. Daichi

"How's your back healing?" Daichi asked. It had been about a week now since the incident with Outlast. That week had been surprisingly quiet, with no interference or even any sightings of Outlast members anywhere near the Dry Juice territory. Even in the territory they had just recently taken it was uneventful. There was no resistance or counter movements at all. Mizuki had strutted around the whole week, loudly boasting about how they had scared them off. He was usually much more humble than this when it came to other ribsteez groups. Despite them being enemies, he respected other ribbers and refrained from trash talking them too excessively unless it was necessary to raise the moral of his own team. However, ever since learning about what the attempted kidnappers had done to Kohaku, he had developed a special hatred for Outlast.

Other than this particular change in behavior, Mizuki had also made it his principle within the last week to almost never leave Kohaku's side. He followed him everywhere, or else dragged Kohaku along with him to wherever it was Mizuki needed to go. These past several days Kohaku had spent the majority of his time in Black Needle, Mizuki's tattoo shop. At night, whenever Dry Juice's activities were over, Mizuki either stayed at Kohaku's house or vis versa. Kohaku didn't mind his friend's sudden overprotective qualities too much, but it did make getting his work done a lot harder. He had his own business to run in the shop he lived above, fixing up broken down allmates and such. However, he'd had to compromise and take his commissions and tool kit to Mizuki's shop, setting up a little corner for himself to do his work. Today was the first day the whole week that Mizuki wasn't there. He was visiting his friend, Aoba, and though he had wanted to take Kohaku along, Daichi had already offered to take Kohaku out for lunch, and Kohaku used the opportunity to get a short break from Mizuki. It had taken some convincing to get the Dry Juice leader to leave Kohaku, but Daichi had promised to look out for him and in the end Mizuki agreed.

"What?" Kohaku asked, lost in his reminiscing about the past week.

"I asked how your back was," Daichi grinned. "Though maybe I should be asking about your hearing." He punched Kohaku playfully in the shoulder.

"Shut up," Kohaku smiled. "Both my back and my ears are just fine."

"So you're healing all right?" Daichi pressed, looking concerned.

"Yeah, the bruises have faded quite a bit," he answered. Kohaku paused a moment, his eyes clouded over with thought. They slipped through a crowd of people as they made their way down the street, heading towards the cafe Daichi had recommended. "Daichi," Kohaku finally spoke up. "Why me?"

"Hmm?" Daichi said. He snapped back to reality, having been preoccupied with enviously watching a car drive down the street. "Why what?"

"The kidnapping," Kohaku told him. It was the first time he'd mentioned it since the night it had happened. "Why did they come after me? If it was random, they wouldn't have been so careful to take me away from Souta and Nori. Honestly, if that were the case, they would've snatched all three of us. Plus the two guys that kidnapped me kept saying something about their boss, Akio, and how he wanted me specifically."

"Isn't it obvious?" Daichi turned to Kohaku, looking surprised. "They're after your scrawny ass because you're Mizuki's favorite.

"What?" Kohaku asked, taken back.

"Come on dude," Daichi laughed. "They have it out for Dry Juice. Those thugs want to take Mizuki down. What better way to do that then go after his right hand man? I mean, they could go after the big man himself, but honestly, no amount of beating they could inflict on Mizuki would get to him as much as harming you. If I was them, that's how I'd do it."

Kohaku was silent a moment, thinking it over. "That does make sense," he finally murmured.

"That Akio may be a cold-blooded coward," Daichi continued. "Hell, there are a lot of colorful words I could call him that would shock the old grannies," he paused for a moment, a slightly intimidated look coming across his face. "Well, I mean your typical old grannies. Not that scary lady with the pink hair." Kohaku laughed as he remembered Tae yelling at them while she was treating his injuries. "But if there's one thing you just can't call him, that would be stupid. The asshole's a mad genius."

They turned a corner and a small pub came into view. "Here we are," Daichi grinned. "Best beer in town!" He quickened his pace excitedly, holding the door open for Kohaku. It was small but cozy inside, filled with workers on their lunch breaks. Daichi led Kohaku over to a small booth and they sat down. "You've got to try the shrimp!" Daichi exclaimed, looking like he hadn't eaten in months. "It's the best."

"Alright, alright," Kohaku laughed. "You can order for me."

A waiter walked up to them, holding out his order book. "What can I get you gentlemen?" He smiled politely.

"Start us off with two beers," Daichi told him. "Then we'll have some hibachi shrimp. Oh," he added, reaching out to grab the waiter's arm before he could walk away. "I don't know about him but once I'm done with my meal, I'll be ordering dessert."

The waiter smiled at him. "We'll have those beers right out." He moved on to take orders at the next table.

Daichi leaned back, looking perfectly at ease. Kohaku, on the other hand, was less than relaxed. "Why do you think they've been so quiet," he lowered his voice so the other people in the restaurant couldn't hear.

"Who's quiet?" Daichi asked distractedly, winking at a passing waitress.

"Daichi," Kohaku snapped. "Pay attention!"

"Right, sorry," Daichin shook himself. "What were you saying?"

"Why do you think Outlast hasn't done anything yet? I know Akio's a coward and all but taking another rib group's territory is a pretty huge insult. You think even they would do something about it."

"Dunno." Daichi was smiling at the waitress flirtily.

"Daichi!" Kohaku hissed.

"Sorry," Daichi peeled his eyes away.  
"I can't help but think they're planning something," Kohaku spoke his thoughts aloud.

"Yeah," Daichi replied, looking thoughtful himself. "You're probably right. You're going to have to be real careful to make sure they don't get you again. You shouldn't go out too much. Hell, if I didn't know this place so well they could even have been hiding here to try and ambush you. Looks like this is the last time you'll be drinking the world's best beer for a while, mate. Speaking of beer," he perked up as he saw the waiter coming with their drinks.

"Here you are," the man said, placing the mugs on the table. "Your shrimp will be ready in a few minutes."

"Hell yeah," Daichi grinned. "Drink up, Kohaku!" He clinked his glass enthusiastically against Kohaku's own before gulping down half the mug.

"Man," Kohaku laughed. "Thirsty much?" He took a drink of his own beer. It was just as good as Daichi had claimed. Honestly, it didn't taste like any other beer Kohaku had had before. "This is good," he grinned, drinking some more.

"Told you," Daichi downed the rest of his before calling for a refill. "Once this shitty Outlast thing blows over we gotta bring the whole group here to celebrate!"

"If it blows over," Kohaku whispered, staring down at the golden liquid in his mug. "I know Mizuki's been acting tough all week, but I can tell he's worried."

"He'd be a fool if he wasn't," Daichi spoke in a carefree tone, still shooting flirty glances at the waitress across the room. "Outlast may not be as big as us yet, but they're getting there, and pretty quickly too. At this rate an all-out turf war is practically inevitable." He noticed the worried look on Kohaku's face. "Hey," he smiled reassuringly. "Don't stress over it. You're practically still a rookie here."

Kohaku rolled his eyes teasingly. "I've been here three years."

"My point," Daichi ignored him, "is that Dry Juice has been through many situations in the past just like this, and we've pulled through all of them just fine."

"Every big group has its fall, though," Kohaku continued, not feeling any better despite Daichi's efforts. "Like that one rib group from way back when ribsteez first started in Midorijima. What was it called again?"

"Cake missile or something like that," Daichi told him.

"Cake Bomb," Kohaku exclaimed as he remembered the name. "Before Dry Juice existed, that one was the biggest and most powerful ribsteez team. The first one too. But they didn't last forever. One day they just vanished."

"Isn't that the Morphine rumor?" Daichi interrupted. "Some mysterious ribsteez group called Morphine took them away. If I remember right I think the cake gang thingy was supposedly their first victim, too."

"Morphine's just an urban legend," Kohaku scoffed. "It was probably the police force that bumped them off. They probably took them out in one night without warning. Covered their tracks real good so no one would suspect. I bet you that's the real reason behind all the disappearing rib teams back then."

"Wasn't cake what's-it just a bunch of kids too?" Daichi asked.

"Yeah," Kohaku confirmed, gulping down the rest of his beer. "At least, that's one of the urban legends surrounding that team. It was started by a bunch of young teens who had it rough in life and needed some way to protect themselves."

"Join the club," Daichi scoffed. "That's everyone in this city. Well, the having it rough part, I mean." He eyed Kohaku's empty glass. "You want another?"

"Yeah," Kohaku looked down at his barren mug.

"I would have the waiter bring you another," Daichi began. "But just one should do the trick."

"Do what trick?" Kohaku yawned, stretching his arms.

Daichi ignored his question. "Why didn't you tell me those men had tried to rape you?"

Kohaku froze, his eyes slowly moving up to Daichi. "What?" he whispered. "Who told you about that? Did- did Mizuki-?"

Daichi threw his head back and laughed. "Mizuki?" he scoffed. "Like he would ever betray his little treasure!"

"What?!" Kohaku gawked, steadily growing more astounded by the minute. "Daichi, are you drunk?"

"After one beer?" Daichi grinned, his eyes widening a little more than normal. "I can hold my liquor better than that!"

"But then, why-"

"I really wish you had told me though," Daichi continued over him. "I thought we were friends! Best fucking buddies! Aren't friends supposed to share all their deepest, darkest secrets while giggling at fucking slumber parties or some shit? I never got the invite to your little slumber party I guess."

"Daichi?" Kohaku exclaimed. "I think someone may have put something in your drink!"

"My drink?" Daichi laughed even harder. "No, my drink's fine. I can't say the same about yours though. Tell me, are you feeling a little drowsy?"

Kohaku froze as he realized he had been feeling sleepy after drinking that beer. And it had tasted different from any other beer he'd drank before. "Daichi!" He cried out, floundering helplessly for some explanation as to what was going on.

"That voice!" Daichi grinned maliciously. "I love it! It's like a fucking lost puppy yapping. No wonder Mizuki chose you as his pet!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Kohaku yelled, losing patience. "Daichi, just tell me what's going on?"

"Oh, so I have to tell you everything but it's okay if you keep secrets," Daichi mocked him, amused by Kohaku's bewilderment. "That hardly seems fair, Kohaku. Why did you neglect to tell me someone tried to make you their toy? If you had, I could've punished them sooner for not following orders and trying to play with you before I got the chance."

Kohaku gasped, filled with shock. His vision was rapidly becoming blurry, and he felt himself sinking down in his seat, his legs and back losing the strength they needed to support him. "But," he sputtered. "But that was Outlast!"

"Oh, it most certainly was Outlast," Daichi laughed. "You're right there. And Akio is one intelligent, ruthless son of a bitch, but really, do you think he's leader material?" Kohaku froze as it dawned on him what Daichi was implying. "You weren't too far off in hindsight. Akio is second in command. But the real person that started this rival ribsteez group and that holds full authority, is me alone."

"You're shrimp's ready," a voice spoke up and two steaming plates were placed before them on the table.

"Help me!" Kohaku tried to yell, but his voice only came out as a quiet sputter. He managed to turn his dizzy head to the waiter, but was taken aback by what he saw. The man was grinning down at him cruelly, watching with relish as Kohaku tried to make sense of what was happening. In fact, the entire room had turned to him and Daichi, watching the scenario unfold as though they were witnessing a comedy skit.

"Ribsteez members aren't just thugs you know," Daichi took a bite of his shrimp. "Mmm," he sighed. "Delicious as usual, Taro."

"Thank you, sir," the waiter nodded gratefully.

"They all have jobs. At a shoe store, a pawn shop, or maybe," Daichi paused to swallow the shrimp down, "a restaurant." The horror that had been rising inside of Kohaku was slowly subsiding, fading away with his limited consciousness. "It's a shame you won't be able to eat your shrimp," Daichi continued in a carefree manner. "It really is quite excellent." He shrugged. "Oh well, more for me." The last thing Kohaku heard before he slipped into darkness was Daichi ordering what he wanted for dessert.


End file.
